Christmas Time Again
by vivelabookworm
Summary: AU A bit of Christmas fluff. Harry concocts a Christmas surprise for Sirius and Remus. implied SR, implied mPreg


**So here we are again. Seems all I'm good for is an occasional one-shot. But God do I love the fluff. I had a different version of this written up somewhere about a year ago, but my friend took my notebook to beta it for me and ended up losing it. So here we are. If she finds it I'll put up the other version as well, but I like how this turned out a bit. For this of you who get the reference, kudos! You get something nice for the holidays this year. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!**

**Disclaimer: Once I again, I own nothing except Amelia. Technically, I barely own her. This is slightly based off of a "Hey Arnold" Christmas special I watched as a kid. I was tempted to give Amelia a pair of Nancy Spumoni Snow boots, but I refrained. Anyway, I own nothing!**

_**Christmas Time Again**_

_Remus Lupin_

That's what my little slip of paper says. It's December 1st and we're all gathered at the Burrow. Voldemort's been good and dead for over a year now and Christmas is coming and everyone is trying to make this Christmas special. Instead of buying gifts for everyone, we've decided to institute a "Secret Santa" this year. Of course, we're all getting gifts for each other anyway. I bought Ginny's gift months ago, but I'm still thinking about the perfect time to give it to her. Ron, Hermione and I bought our gifts a few days ago. I also have a feeling Sirius is planning something for me. But what can I get Remus? It's amazing how long you can go knowing someone but not really knowing them.

"Who'd you get, mate?" Ron asks. I turn to look at him seated on the threadbare sofa with Hermione.

"Remus," I whispered slightly forlorn, "I have no idea what to get him, and don't say a book, Hermione."

She rolls her eyes at me, annoyed, but smiles. "I know. We all want this Christmas to be special."

Eventually, everyone began turning in for the night until I was the last one left sitting heavy in front of the dying fire.

* * *

I tossed and turned in my bed, listening to Ron snore nearby. Realizing my efforts were futile, I got up and padded quietly downstairs for a cup of tea. Seeing the light on, I cautiously rounded the corner and saw Molly sitting at the worn table nursing her own cup of tea. 

"Hello, Harry dear. Come sit down. Couldn't sleep?"

I laughed softly. "We really have to work on Ron's snoring."

"Yes," she said smiling, "But that's not all, is it? What's troubling you? You're not having nightmares again, are you?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just. I picked out Remus's name today and I have no idea what to get for him, or Sirius for that matter."

"I know. You want this to be special for them. Goodness knows they deserve it after everything they've been through."

"That's exactly it, Molly," I sighed, staring down into my cup, "This is going to be their first Christmas together since Sirius was cleared and now Voldemort's gone. I just want this to be good."

"Oh," Molly gasped slightly, "Well, yes, dear, but it's not just that. It's almost their first Christmas together since Amelia."

Who? I'd never heard of her before. Mrs. Weasley noticed my confusion.

"Of course, you wouldn't know about that. Amelia was Sirius and Remus's daughter. Such a cute little thing, too, with the bluest eyes and the prettiest sandy blonde hair."

"What happened to her, Molly? Why have I never heard about her?"

"Oh, Harry, you must realize that this is a very hard subject for many of us, especially Remus. It all happened right around this time, right after Sirius was taken off and of course…"

I immediately knew what she meant. Right after his parents were killed, after that fateful night eighteen years earlier.

"Any way, well, at that point, there had been many laws passed forbidding werewolves from many things available to everyone else, including starting families, some nonsense about passing on the gene, even though everyone knows that is impossible. Anyway, Remus and Sirius were able to get past most of them what with Sirius's status as an Auror and their friendship with Lily, James, and Dumbledore.

"Unfortunately, after Sirius was arrested and Voldemort disappeared, the Ministry started coming down hard about many laws overlooked during the war, especially the ones to do with so-called 'Dark Creatures.' I'll never forget that day. Remus had been staying with Andromeda, Tonks's mother, and I had been over to help settle them in. All of a sudden, there was someone pounding on the door. The Aurors had come to take Amelia away. Absolute poppycock. Of course, there was nothing we could do to convince them to leave. They practically ripped the poor thing from Remus's arms. The second they left, we flooed Albus. He tried everything he could, but by the time we found anything, Amelia was long gone. The Ministry had taken any children away if their parents were werewolves or any other 'half-breeds' and placed them in orphanages. Most of the children were returned to their parents, but Amelia was never found. Remus was devastated, but somehow he managed to pick up with his life and move on. Of course, the holidays are still hard on the both of them, but we all muddle through don't we?"

Molly's eyes glistened with tears as she finished.

"Well, that's enough bad memories for one night," she sighed, getting up from her seat and wiping her eyes, "You'll figure something out, Harry. Don't let it trouble you too much."

I nodded. How horrible. The Ministry was really fucked up, taking innocent kids away from innocent parents. Sipping my tea, I mulled over everything Molly had told me and realized I had a very busy month ahead of me.

* * *

"So I take it you figured out what to get," Ginny asked me quietly as we sipped hot chocolate in front of the fire together. The Burrow sparkled with Christmas cheer as everyone relaxed around the room. The Christmas tree twinkled beautifully in one corner of the room as people mingled here and there about the house. Molly was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Ron and Hermione had disappeared sometime earlier and neither Ginny nor I wanted to dwell long on what they might be doing. 

"Yes," I said quietly smiling softly. I could see her getting annoyed, out of the corner of my eye. "You'll see later. It's going to be good, though."

She smiled mischievously. _Oh no, I know that smile. That means trouble._

"Okay, we'll see about that later then. Or perhaps it's what you won't be seeing."

She gave me a peck before going to help her mother in the kitchen.

A bit later, Molly beckoned everyone together and started handing out the gifts piled beneath the tree. My heart raced a bit as everyone was handed their gifts.

"Oh, but wait, there isn't a Secret Santa for Remus. Who had Remus?" she asked curiously. Everyone's eyes swiveled around, confused, until they fell on me. I looked at Sirius and Remus standing together, swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"Well, you see your gift is for both of you actually and I had a bit of a hard time wrapping it."

This confused everyone even more, seeing as I was "Mister Suzy Homemaker." Just then, the doorbell rang. _Saved by the bell._

"Right on time," I laughed, "I'll be right back!"

As I open the door, I receive a blast of wintry air and snow right in my face. I know everyone is straining to hear what is going on, so I speak loud enough for them to hear me well and my mystery guest laughs.

"Merry Christmas! It's freezing out there, isn't it?" I ask cheerfully, "Let me take your coat."

I hang the coat on the coat rack and lead her into the next room. A different sort of silence falls over the room as we walk in and I hear Remus's breath catch slightly. The adults, older Weasleys, and Hermione realize who my guest is, while Ron, Ginny, and the twins still seem confused at the beautiful dark blonde that had just strode into their sitting room. With her looks, she could only be one person. Remus and Sirius are completely in awe of what has happened, but suddenly both Amelia and I are engulfed in the biggest hug I have ever received.

"Merry Christmas," I whisper to the small family.

"Thank you so much, Harry," Remus whispers in my ear, "This is the best gift we could ever receive."

Tears are streaming down their faces as I pull away and give them time together to catch up. Slowly, the rest of the party disperses to different parts of the house. Most of the Weasleys follow me up to Ron's room where I explain how I managed to find Amelia and bring her here. As I look out the window at the Christmas snow, I know that this is the Christmas I have always dreamed of.


End file.
